This is a pretty substantial dish, full of wonderful meaty and sweet-spiced aromas. Save it for a Sunday lunch, as an alternative to the traditional roast. Serves four.

Method

In a large bowl, mix the lamb chops with a tablespoon of the olive oil, a teaspoon of salt and half a teaspoon of pepper, and rub everything together well. Place a medium stockpot on high heat, add the chops and sear for two minutes on each side, until golden-brown. Add the quartered onion, carrots and celery, pour in a litre and a half of cold water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, skim the surface and add the parsley, cinnamon, allspice, peppercorns and bay leaves. Leave to simmer for an hour and a half, skimming occasionally and topping up the water if it gets low, until the lamb is tender.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a medium frying pan. Add the sliced onion and cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until caramelised and brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.

When the chops are soft, remove them from the stock and set aside. Strain the stock and measure out 900ml (or 700ml if using couscous instead of maftoul); reserve the carrots to serve with the lamb, if you wish. Top up with water if necessary. Return 700ml of the liquid to the pot (500ml if using couscous), bring to a boil, add the maftoul and cook on a low to medium heat, stirring often, until al dente – about 10 minutes. (If using couscous, pour it in, cover the pan, remove from the heat and set aside for five minutes.) Stir the chickpeas and cooked onion through the maftoul, add a quarter-teaspoon of salt and warm through. Remove from the heat, cover with a lid and keep somewhere warm.

Just before serving, reheat the last of the lamb stock. Add the lamb and gently stir until warmed through. Pile the warm maftoul on a large serving platter, put the lamb chops on top, spoon over some of the hot stock and the yoghurt (you may need to loosen it up first by whisking it a little), sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve.